Barcelona vs Real Madrid: El Clasico team news and prediction

When El Clasico is on, the world takes notice. Barcelona and Real Madrid lock horns once more at Camp Nou this afternoon with both sides keen to avoid dropping points in the title race, particularly as Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad face off tonight. 

Ahead of this one, we provide all the pre-match information, including what time this game kicks off, where to watch the action, team news and probable XIs...  

When is kick off?                  

Sunday 24th October, 15:15 GMT                  

Where is the match?                  

Camp Nou, Barcelona 

What TV channel is it on?                  

Premier Sports 1 / LaLiga TV 

Season so far 

Barcelona have endured a poor start to the season and there are calls for Ronald Koeman to be sacked. The Dutchman has overseen just four wins in eight league matches in 2021/22 and they come into El Clasico five points off top spot, albeit with a game in hand. They can at least fall back on their solid home form, with Barcelona picking up 13 points from 15 available, but did lose this game last season, falling to a 3-1 defeat to their fierce rivals. 

Following an exceptional run of form, Real Madrid have endured a wobble in recent weeks. A 0-0 draw with Villarreal was followed up with a 2-1 defeat to Espanyol prior to the international break. They'll be hoping their next visit to Catalonia yields the desired result. Nevertheless, Los Blancos still boast the second best away record in the division as they look to get back to winning ways. 

Team news 

Ronald Araujo remains sidelined due to injury for Barcelona, which is a huge blow for the home side, and that isn't their only concern at the back. Jordi Alba is a major doubt owing to a foot issue, which could see youngster Alejandro Balde feature at left-back. Martin Braithwaite and Pedri are also ruled out for the Blaugrana, while Ousmane Dembele is a doubt. Sergio Aguero is being eased into first team duties having featured from the bench against Valencia and Dynamo Kyiv in the last week. 

Dani Ceballos and Gareth Bale are again sidelined for Real Madrid, though only the latter had a real chance of featuring at Camp Nou with the former out of favour in the capital. Eden Hazard and Dani Carvajal could at least make the squad here, but Isco and Luka Jovic are set to miss out. Rodrygo should keep his spot alongside Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior on the frontline. Ferland Mendy is line to make his first league appearance of the season. 

Probable XIs 

Barcelona (433) - Ter Stegen; Roberto, Pique, Garcia, Balde; De Jong, Busquets, Gavi; Dest, Depay, Fati

Real Madrid (433) - Courtois; Nacho, Militao, Alaba, Mendy; Kroos, Casemiro, Modric; Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinicius

Key Battle: Memphis Depay vs Karim Benzema

After joining from Lyon on a free, Memphis Depay has performed well in a Barcelona shirt, scoring four times and registering two assists for Ronald Koeman's side. While fans are hoping to see Depay transfer his Netherlands performances to the club stage, the Dutchman has still shone at Camp Nou, with five of his six goals and assists coming on home turf, two of which came in a man of the match performance against Valencia last week.

Karim Benzema has outperformed his Dutch counterpart and then some. The Frenchman looks to be getting better with age and has already had a direct hand in 16 league goals this season, scoring nine times. A WhoScored rating of 8.37 is the second best in Europe's top five leagues behind Erling Haaland, but a return of one goal in his last 10 Clasico's, that coming in the most recent clash between these two sides, is a record he needs to improve upon if he is to leapfrog the Norwegian back into first.

Score Prediction: Barcelona 1-3 Real Madrid